There's Nothing More Valuable Than The Life Of A Child!

"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children." ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"What we instill in our children will be the foundation upon which they build their future." ― Steve Maraboli

"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others & the world remains & is immortal." ― Albert Pike

"There is no greater insight into the future than recognizing when we save our children, we save ourselves." ― Margaret Mead

"If the future of humanity truly depends on our children, then let's do our best to protect & better our future each & every day." ― Timothy Pina

"We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future." ― Franklin D. Roosevelt

"What is it like to be a parent? It's one of the hardest things you'll ever do but in exchange it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love." ― Nicholas Sparks

"The visions we offer our children shape the future. It matters what those visions are. Often they become self-fulfilling prophecies. Dreams are maps." ― Carl Sagan

"It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel & heartless world. It's our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel & heartless." ― L.R. Knost

"A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, & to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires." ― Paulo Coelho

"Childhood is the world of miracle & wonder; as if creation rose, bathed in the light, out of the darkness, utterly new & fresh & astonishing. The end of childhood is when things cease to astonish us." ― Eugène Ionesco

"A child must have a valuable thing which is called imagination. A child must have a secret world to live things that never were. It is necessary that she believe. Then when the world becomes too ugly for living in, she can reach back & live in her imagination." ― Betty Smith

"Children live in a world of dreams & imagination, a world of aliveness. There is a voice of wonder & amazement inside all of us; but we grow to realize we can no longer hear it, & we live in silence. It isn't that GOD stopped speaking; it is that your lives became louder." ― Mike Yaconelli

"You can go through life & make new friends every year ― every month practically ― but there was never any substitute for those friendships of childhood that survive into adult years. Those are the ones in which we are bound to one another with hoops of steel." ― Alexander McCall Smith

"To believe in a child is to believe in the future. Through their aspirations they will save the world. With their combined knowledge the turbulent seas of hate & injustice will be calmed. They will champion the causes of life's underdogs, forging a society without class discrimination. They will supply humanity with music & beauty as it has never known. They will endure. Towards these ends I pledge my life's work. I will supply the children with tools & knowledge to overcome the obstacles I will pass on the wisdom of my years & temper it with patience. I shall impact in each child the desire to fulfill his or her dream. I shall teach." ― Henry James

"As important as your obligations as a doctor, lawyer or business leader will be, you are a human being first. And these human connections with spouse, with children & with friends are the most important investments you will ever make. At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child or a parent. One thing will  never change. Fathers & Mothers, if you have children, they must come first. You must read to your children, you must hug your children & you must love your children. Your success as a family, our success as a society depends not on what happens at the White House, but what happens inside YOUR house." ― Barbara Bush

"Children Learn What They Live" by Dorothy Law Nolte 

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.

If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.

If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.

If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.

If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.

If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.

If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

If children live with fairness, they learn justice.

If children live with kindness & consideration, they learn respect.

If children live with security, the learn to have faith in themselves & in those about them.

If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

We pray for children
 who give us sticky kisses,
 who hop rocks & chase butterflies,
 who stomp in puddles & ruin their new pants,
 who sneak Popsicles before supper,
 who erase holes in math workbooks, 
 who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
 who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
 who've never squeaked across the floor in new sneakers,
 who've never "counted potatoes,"
 who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead,
 who never go to the circus,
 who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
 who bring us fistfuls of dandelions & sing off-key,
 who have goldfish funerals, build card-table forts,
 who slurp their cereal on purpose,
 who get gum in their hair, put sugar in their milk,
 who spit toothpaste all over the sink,
 who hug us for no reason, who bless us each night.

And we pray for those
 who never get dessert,
 who watch their parents watch them die,
 who have no safe blanket to drag behind,  
 who can't find any bread to steal,
 who don't have any rooms to clean up,
 whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
 whose monsters are real.

We pray for children
 who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
 who throw tantrums in the grocery store & pick at their food,
 who like ghost stories,
 who shove dirty clothes under the bed & never rinse out the tub,
 who get quarters from the tooth fairy,
 who don't like to be kissed in front of the car pool,
 who squirm in church & scream in the phone,
 whose tears we sometimes laugh at & whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
 whose nightmares come in the daytime,
 who will eat anything,
 who have never seen a dentist,
 who aren't spoiled by anybody,
 who go to bed hungry & cry themselves to sleep,
 who live & move, but have no being.

We pray for children
 who want to be carried, & for those who must.
 For those we never give up on,
 & for those who don't have a chance.
 For those we smother,
 & for those who will grab the hand of anybody
 kind enough to offer.

"Sleep Tight" by Céline Marie Claudette Dion

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